Second World War defences were uncovered by the storms at a South East Cornwall beach.

The storms have uncovered the historic scaffolding defences at Tregantle Beach, which is part of a Ministry Of Defence training area where there is live firing.

The World War Two defences were used in preparation in case of an attack by the enemy, which included scaffolding to stop tanks coming ashore, barbed wire and mines.

A spokesman for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) said: “We are aware that the recent storms have removed sand from the beach at Tregantle, which has uncovered some World War Two beach defences.

“This has happened in a number of MOD beaches around the country.

“We are currently assessing if there is any risk to military personnel or to the public and if it is considered that they pose a risk, the defences will be removed.

“If not, they will be left in place- either way, these will be photographed and their locations noted using GPS.”